Home Secretary’s public safety pledge

The Home Secretary has said an increase in visible police officers will help improve public safety in Derby city centre.

Yvette Cooper made a special visit to the city to announce 35 new police officers will be recruited specifically to tackle town centre crime and anti-social behaviour across Derbyshire, as part of a £200m investment in policing. 

Her visit came at a time when there have been reports of people feeling unsafe and intimidated on the county’s streets, including Derby city centre during both night and day.

In April it was reported that a Derby City Council survey found almost 69 per cent of female participants and 68 per cent of male respondents felt “unsafe” or “very unsafe” when walking in the city centre alone at night.

Well-known issues with street drinkers both on St Peter’s Street and Midland Road have been well documented despite a public plea from city centre businesses to those in power to tackle the problems. 

One woman, who did not wish to be named, was asked if she felt safe in Derby city centre. She said: “I know people who are too frightened to come to Derby, which is really sad. It used to be such a beautiful place but now it is a very vulnerable place.”

The city centre was rocked further just weeks after her comment when a murder investigation was launched. A customer was stabbed to death at Lloyds Bank – which again highlighted the safety issues surrounding the city centre. 

Derby is not alone as other nearby town centres have challenges too. People living in Ilkeston are “crying out for help” after a catalogue of recent incidents in the area including the death of two teenagers to violence. 

Ms Cooper launched a nationwide “Safer Streets Summer Blitz” scheme which will see more than 500 town centres benefit from additional police officers. The scheme will also see “stronger prevention and enforcement action by police and councils to support safer high streets” in the summer months. 

These plans include increased visible town centre policing and “ramping up” the use of targeted enforcement powers against troublemakers – including banning perpetrators from “hotspots”.

Speaking at Pride Park Stadium, the Home Secretary told businesses, charity organisations, politicians and police chiefs that people had lost trust in the police, which needed to change. 

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Our town and city centres need to be safe. Shoppers and residents need to feel safe – that is why we’ve asked police forces and communities to sign up to the Safer Streets summer initiative to target town centres. 

“Here in Derbyshire we are going to have 30 additional neighbourhood police officers this year. We’ve got to get that neighbourhood policing back on the streets and that’s what will help the people in Derby feel safe.” 

But time will tell if the extra “bobbies on the beat” will make a difference. Ms Cooper was asked if she was confident the additional resources would bring welcome change to Derby and Derbyshire’s public safety.

She replied: “I think it is crucial. We’ve seen neighbourhood policing cut for far too long and seen fewer and fewer bobbies on the beat. We have to get police back on the beat, but also with new powers to tackle shoplifting, respect orders and keep prolific offenders out of town centres. I think those crimes have been dismissed as low-level for far too long – it is not low-level because it affects the heart of the community.”